Balls formed from soft and resilient lightweight materials are known in the art for providing amusement and for teaching coordination and motor skills while minimizing the risk of injury to players and damage to furniture and other structures where such balls are being used. Some such balls of various different shapes and sizes are formed of hydrocarbon foam material and are marketed under the trademark "NERF."
Some such soft and resilient balls are particularly characterized by having a plurality of soft flexible arms which radiate from a central core of the ball. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,276 to Judkins teaches a non-injurious amusement ball which includes a series of foam strips having resilient characteristics with the foam strips bound together so that they extend radially from a core. The Judkins ball is particularly configured to have a periphery thereof defined by ends of the foam strips with relatively small gaps between the foam strips so that the ball has a relatively high density and stable trajectory. While effective for its purpose, the Judkins ball, having its relatively higher density, is not fully effective when utilized with young children or players with poorly developed coordination and motor skills. The Judkins ball can be both difficult to handle (i.e. catch and throw) and can be heavier than desired for its size, making the Judkins ball less than desirable in many circumstances.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,529 to Stillinger teaches a spherical object with floppy filaments that also fits within the general category of balls configured to have soft flexible arms radiating from a central core. While the Stillinger ball has many desirable characteristics, it is formed of filaments which are not resilient, but rather merely flexible/floppy, providing a ball which does not hold its shape when deformed. The Stillinger ball thus does not exhibit any form of bouncing characteristics and does not otherwise exhibit an ability to return to its original shape.
Accordingly, a need exists for a ball which includes resilient arms radiating from a central core which are sufficiently spaced so that gaps around the arms allow fingers of a player to reach in amongst the arms for secure capture and a ball which resiliently returns to its original shape when deforming loads are removed therefrom.